Change your Mind, Change your Life

How training for your first triathlon will take your business to new heights! Items you will need for your first triathlon!

Have you done anything new or challenging this year that made you step out of your comfort zone and grow your business?

For me, I performed better in the marketplace while maintaining a very strict disciplined life while I trained for triathlons this year. In fact, I will be setting new records in terms of growth both at top line and bottom line at work this year and I attribute a lot of it to my strict militaristic lifestyle!

Maybe you need more discipline in 2018 to take your business to new heights!

For me, 2017 was the first time in my life I competed in a triathlon. Specifically it was an off road Triathlon which means rather than riding and running on a paved road your mountain bike and run on unpaved roads that are trails in the woods.

My first one ever was in April 2017 in Austin Texas called the Xterra ATX which is held at Pace Bend Park on Lake Travis.

I encourage you, no matter your age to give an Xterra Triathlon a shot this year. Maybe we will see each other in Austin!

You will need a few things for your first race and I have listed them below for you.

1) A plan! Before you buy anything don’t get caught up in the hype of new stuff! Have a training plan and a partner you can train with or get a coach to keep you accountable. You can find triathlon plans online or you can get a coach. My coach specializes in off road events but is not limited to them. My coach was able to take me from a beginner and have me qualify for the Xterra World Championships in my first season and they can train you from anywhere as it is all done online. Here is a link : Krause Sports Performance. Depending on your distance and type of race you will need different plans. For example, your training will be different for an Xterra vs a sprint road tri. The key is not letting fear hold you back. Sign up for the race first and that will kick you in to gear to train!!!

Now that you are signed up for a race here is what you will need:

Shoes: I am completely biased but I only run in Nike after reading Phil Knights book Shoe Dog. It’s an incredible book about how he created Nike from nothing and he will always have my support! However, any pair of shoes will get you to the finish line… Nike’s just might get your there faster.

Speedo/Jammer: That’s right, if you didn’t grow up a swimmer your about to buy a speedo/jammer. You certainly could swim in regular swim trunks but you might be out of gas before you even transition into the bike. Besides with all the training you will be doing, you will be looking great come race day!

Mountain Bike: that’s right you will need a bike and it doesn’t have to be crazy expensive but I would suggest 29 inch wheels as they will make your life easier. I currently ride a Specialized Stumpjumper. Hardtails are not full suspension and you will be able to go faster but full suspension are more comfortable to ride. If your just starting out, don’t worry to much about this just by a bike or find one on Craigslist.

Race Belt: if you click on that link you will see that a race belt you click your running bib number to it and finish your race wearing this. If you forget yours race day you can always use a shoe string or like me carry your bin number the entire race in your hand.

Bike Shoes: this isn’t necessarily a must but it would be highly suggested if you want to train well and compete. These will lock you in and makes pedaling and managing the bike under you much easier. Again, it’s not a must but it’s very close.

Everything is just accessories like watches, heart rate monitors, glasses, gloves, socks, nutrition, water bottles, power meters, compression socks, gels, and the list can go on for days.

The key is taking action and signing up for a race. Believe me, having the discipline to train and maintain a job and perform at a high level in both with show you that things you thought once impossible are just not far out of your reach!

2 comments

I switched back to using flat pedals last year to help improve my riding technique since clipping in had made me start some bad habits. Call it unconventional, but I started getting faster as a result and when it came to Xterras, it saved me the time from changing shoes in the last transition. Perhaps racing on a fat bike is unconventional as well, but it sure makes beating the competition a whole lot more enjoyable!